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Heads of religious confessions in Azerbaijan issues statement on Govharaga mosque

11 October 2019 17:08 (UTC +04:00)

Heads of religious confessions in Azerbaijan have issued a statement regarding Yukhari Govharagha mosque in Shusha, press service of the Caucasian Muslims Office told APA.

The statement reads:

"Continuing its aggressive dees one more time occupant Armenia in a spiritual sense violates the norms of international law against our religious monuments - conventions and other documents adopted by the civilized world on the protection of spiritual heritage. Purposeful terror committed against Juma mosque - Yukhari Govheraga Mosque built by architect Karbalai Safihan Sultanhuseyn oglu Garabagi in 1883 upon the instructions of the daughter of Ibrahimkhalil Khan Govheraga in the occupied Azerbaijani territory in Shusha.

Armenia prepares for provocative so-called “opening” of Govharaga mosque in Shusha, destroyed by Armenians themselves who also destructed cultural, historical, and religious heritage belonging to Azerbaijani nation in occupied territories, after repair-restoration works. Armenia tries to deceive international community and tries to show itself as a country, that approaches historical monuments with care, with so-called “opening” of the mosque after “repair” works. It is further clear example of illegal activity of Armenia and its criminal regime in occupied territories. The point, disappoints and troubles us, is that, according to the disseminated news, criminal regime carries out the works together with Part Saman Jahan Company of neighbor Muslim country Iran.

Armenian extremists regularly destroying mosques, cemeteries, other temples in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, currently by changing historical view of the mosque behind the veil of fake humanism, under pretext of restoration falsify its ethnic identity, and engaged in removal of cultural heritage belonging to Azerbaijanis, in the occupied lands. Undoubtedly, after the “renovation” the mosque will undergo fake changes, and will be presented with corrections that distort history as it was in ancient Albanian churches and other temples.

We - leaders of the religious confessions in Azerbaijan, strongly condemn this so-called care campaign for the religious and Cultural Monument in Shush, evaluate the actions of Armenians against our religious and cultural monuments in the occupied territories as a policy of inadmissible extortion that undermines international conventions and declare that there is no any justification for this. Armenian side commiting this provocative deeds demonstrates that as always, again avoids the negotiation process for the peaceful settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno Garabagh conflict and does not refrain from the hypocrisy to the format of the joint statements made by the religious leaders.

We call on the international community to express their determination against the acts of vandalism against the Govharagha Mosque and the historical and religious monuments in all of our occupied territories, referring to the provisions of the Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Heritage in the Armed Conflict (1954), the UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage Protection Convention (1972), the European Convention for the Protection of Archaeological Heritage (1992), urge them to take serious actions to prevent it to happen again.

Sheikh-ul-Islam Allahshukur Peshazadeh,

Chairman of the Caucasian Muslims Office

ALEXANDER,

Archbishop of Baku and Azerbaijan

Melih YEVDAYEV,

He is the head of the Mountain Jewish community in Azerbaijan

Robert MOBILLI,

Chairman of the Albanian-Udino Christian community in Azerbaijan.